Light in Darkness
by Melissa Waters
Summary: 14-year old Seth runs away, after a heated argument with his family. But when a demon breaks into Fablehaven searching for him, telling it would stop at nothing to kill the boy, they start realizing their mistake. Will they let the hatered between faries and dark creatures stop them, or will they try to save Seth, who is nowhere to be found?
1. Argument

_******* I want to warn you. I am NOT a good writer, and these won't be long chapters. They might lack some details, and some words might be written wrong. I would appreciate if you tried reading it, but of course, I won't force you. I would be very thankfull of reviews. Enjoy! :)*******_

 **14-year old Seth runs away, after a heated argument with his family. Not accepted in it anymore, because of his Shadow Charmer ability, everyone feels releaved he's gone. But when a demon breaks into Fablehaven searching for him, telling it would stop at nothing to kill the boy, they start realizing their mistake. Will they let the hatered between faries and dark creatures stop them, or will they try to save Seth, who's nowhere to be found?**

"... not fair!" Seth shouted, anger growing inside him. They had been arguing for fifteen minutes, and Seth's voice was getting hoarse, but he didn't stop. " You never let me go on missions with the other Knights! You never let me hear anything special or important!"

" Seth Michael Sorenson! You do not speak to us like that!" Mr. Sorenson practicly screamed at his son.

" Why? Because _it's not fair_? So pushing me out of the family is fair then?"

That's when Warren stood up from the couch, and faces the family.

" I think we should just calm down, and-"

" He's a danger to the creatures, Warren! " Grandpa blurted. " He's a danger to US! To Kendra!"

" You think I would harm my own sister?" Seth askel, not believing what he was hearing. Kendra and Bracken were officially dating, and were eating at a fancy restaurant today.

" Its only a matter of time before you do! Seth you are a Shadow Charmer! No matter what you say or do, you are evil! All Shadow Charmer are!"

Seth was shocked. He couldn't believe it was his grandfather saying this. But what hurt him more, was that he saw his parents' nodding in agreement.

" You too? My own parents?" He asked from them.

" We didn't ask for you, as a son! We wanted someone like Kendra! Good and caring... Not someone like you!"

The only person in the room, who looked suprised, was Warren. The young man was staring at the Sorensons, his mouth hanging open. But the last comment had had hit Seth so hard, he didn't even notice.

He was noddind slowly, his eyes on the people sitting in the living room.

" Well, I'm sorry I caused you such a pain." And with that he stormed up the stairs into the attic, banging the door closed after him.

Tears were running down his eyes, as he started pulling clothes out of the closet, and shoving them into a black backpack. How could his family say that? After all he had done?

Sure, being a Shadow Charmer was cool, but... if this was what came from it...

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and quickly locked the door.

" Seth? Are you in there?" It was Warren. The doorknob turned, but woulden't open. " Seth, please open the door."

His cousin's voice was soft and patient. But Seth couldn't bring himself to open the door. The closed the backpack, now full of blankets and clothes, and threw it onto his back. Then he quickly opened the drawer next to his bed and pulled out a paper and a pencil.

After ignoring Warren's many calls, he finished the note, and hid it underneath his pillow. Then he silently opened the window, and climbed outside.

The evening air was cold, but refreshing. Wiping away the salty drops, Seth climbed onto the roof, and started making his way down. He grabbed the vines, that were zig-zagging across the white walls of the house, and used them to get himself down.

Once his legs touched the wet earth, he started running away from the house, his family's words aching in his heart. Without even turning to look back, he ran to the gates of Fablehaven, pushed them open and ran into the darkness.


	2. Shock

Kendra walked through the door, Bracken has holding open, and threw her jacket onto the hook. Bracken smiled at her, as he did the same with his and took her hand. But the smile didn't last for long, for suddenly they hear Warren's angry voice shouting in the living room.

"... fault! How could you say that to him? Now he's god-knows-where, and here you're all sitting there probably proud of yourselves!"

" What's going on?" Kendra asked as she walked through the doorway, to see Warren screaming at her grandparents and parents.

Her cousin turned around to look at Kendra, his face red from shouting. Nobody made a sound.

" Siriously. We were having a great night together, but when we come home, the first thing we see is the whole family, shouting at each other! And you aren't even telling me why?"

Biting his lip, Warren took a deep breath, before answering.

" Seth ran away.

Silence. And then...

" WHAT?!" Kendra felt fear taking a hold of her. Where was his brother? Why had he run away?

Bracken had covered his mouth with one hand, eyes open side.

" But... why? Why would he run away?"

" You should ask that from your them." Warren said nodding at the Sorensons. " You wouldn't believe what they said to him."

And with that he stormed off, past Kendra and Bracken, leaving them staring at the others in shock.

" How could you?" That was the only thing Kendra could manage, before she ran after Warren who had left the house, Bracken only steps behind her.


	3. Tears

Hey everyone! Before I start this chapter, I would like to say my thanks to my first reviewer ZephyrVibes! Thank you so much for readin my story!

If any of you have ideas for new chapters, or stories I would be glad to hear them! AI will try to update every day, but it depends if I still have ideas and words to write. Ideas from you would help! Thank you, and enjoy!:)

Kendra and Bracken found Warren walking in the yard, on a verge of tears.

" Warren?" Her cousing swirled around, his hand immediately shooting to the sword he was carrying on his hip. But once he saw it was only the two, his hand loosened and fell from the weapon.

" I'm sorry Kendra. I should have just busted through the door and stop him. It's just... they said horrible things to him. I was in shock. "

Kendra walked forward and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder.

" You were trying to do the right thing, Warren. You didn't know he would run away."

" I know! But I just-"

Kendra sighed. She was still feeling worried, but seeing her cousin like this, blaming himself made her heart break." Warren if you want to do something for him, help me find him. You feel like you did something wrong? Help me make things right. "

" Kendra, I don't blade him for leaving. The things your family said..." Tears brimmed the young man's hazel eyes.

" What did they say?"

Five minutes later, Warren had told them everything, and kendra was crying uncontrollably. How could they say that to Seth? To her little brother?

Now sitting on the ground, with Bracken's hands around her, Kendra tried to imagine herself in Seth's place. But she couldn't. Suddenly an immense ampunut of anger exploded inside her, and she jumped to her feet, nearly breaking Bracken's nose in the process.

" Ow..." he whispered, but Kendra had already stormed off, leaving Warren and Bracken staring after her.

She burst through the doors and ruskea into the living room, where the rest of the family was still sitting.

Grandpa was the first to notice the young girl, though the others were only seconds behind.

" Kendra-"

" You're a monster, Stan. " Kendra was so ashamed to call him ' Grandpa', that she desided to use his real name. "How could you say that to him? "

" He's Shadow Charmer, Kendra!" Grandpa said, his voice startind to rise.

" He's your grandson! He many be a Shadow Charmer, but he's a good one! He has good heart. Not that you'd know anything about one."

Then she stormed up the stairs, leaving everyone dumbfolded in the living room. She walked into the attic, closing the door behind her, father loud. Then she plopped herself into Seth's bed, and started to cry.

"He's a Shadow Charmer, Kendra!" She couldn't believe it was her grandfather, who had said that. She didn't even want to think about how much that had hurt Seth.

One night, a few months ago, Seth had told Kendra that he wouldn't be accepted by the faries because of his abilities. Kendra had told him they would always love him. She had thought it was the truth. She hadn't realized how wrong she was.

Changing position, Kendra slipped her hand under the pillow, only to find something underneath.

She sat up, and wiped her tears away, as she pulled the small piece of paper from its hiding place.

It was folded a few times, but Kendra had a feeling of what it might be.

Kendra... My sister... I want you to know, that I'm sorry I left. But, I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm hated. Not by you, of course, but...

I want you to move on with your life. I won't be coming back, but remember, I will always, ALWAYS, love you. Stay strong.

\- Seth

Kendra read the message many times, new tears always streaming down her face. One hand still covering her mouth, she laid down on the bed, and fell asleep, the note pressed tightly against her heart.

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He had to find the boy. It was all he could think about, as he feasted on the deer. Nothing was more important, than finding him.

Though the moon was shining brightly, not a single piece of the light could reach the hiding place of the demon. Yet he could see around himself easily. All demons did.

" I will get you, Seth Sorenson. Soon, you will be mine."


	4. Why?

**_Hi, guys! Before I start this chapter, and probably the other chapters, I want to say a few words._**

 ** _I am very thankfull of a certain review. I won't be mentioning names, but in this review, I got bothe negative and positive comeback. There were many things, but one was for example: " Why does Seth's family hate him so much?"_**

 ** _Well because of this review, I have chosen to focus on Seth in most of the part, and one thing you will learn, is why does Seth's family suddenly hate him._**

 ** _Another thing that the review said, was that the chapters were a little too short. I will work on that. Thank you, for your words encouraged me in some way! To me it sounded like someone is willing to help me, not prove I'm a hopless case!:)_**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

It was cold. Seth wished he had learned how to produce fire with his abilities. He had learned how to drop temperature, and how to summon a small piece of darkness in his hand, but fire was the thing he was working on, when the accident happened.

 _He had been practising in the yard, with Warren reading a book a hundred yards away, making sure nothing happened, when a group of faries had flown to him. The first step of creating a fire, was to from a ball of darkness. Then he would have to imagine intense heat into it, so long that it formed into a ball of fire._

 _He had just formed the ball of darkness, when one of the faries startled him, by asking what he was doing. As he lost his consentration, the ball exploded. The faries screamed, as the darkness spread curling around them. Seth was frozen for a moment, staring in fear at the terrified creatures._

 _When his brain started working again, he thrust his hands forward, and started summoning back the darkness. Warren was running towards them, but Seth knew there was nothing he could do. That's when Grandpa decided to step out of the front door, to find the fairies flying around in horror, with darkness trying to catch them, Seth's arm streched out pointing at the poor creatures._

 _Of course Warren was the only one to see what had actually happened. He reached Seth just as he had summoned the last bit of darkness into his hand._

 _The young boy was breathing heavily, his eyes wide as plates. A dozen faries were lying on the ground, unconscious._

 _Warren immediately pulled the boy into a tight hug, feeling the boy shaking in his arms._

 _" Shhh... it's okay..."_

 _" SETH! Explain yourself!" Grandpa's voice was loud and furious, but Seth could just arelly hear it._

 _" Stan, I know it looks bad-"_

 _" He attacked the faries!"_

 _Grandpa looked like he was going to faint. One hand on his forhead, and his mouth hanging wide open, Warren could see he was shocked. '_

 _" He was practising his powers, when the faries startled him. I was here all the time."_

 _Grandpa shared a glance with Seth, but the boy had shut his eyes tightly. But Warren saw the look in Grandpa's eyes. It was fear._

 _Several insidents like these had happened after that. Once when Seth was arguing with his father, Kendra had tried to drag him away to calm down. But once her hand had touched the boy, she had experienced a immence pain in her hand._

 _She had screamed, jumping back, making Seth turn to look what had happened. Seeing his sister on the ground, grabbing her hand, immediately filled him with worry. But he had a feeling it was his fault._

 _" Kendra! I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."_

 _" It's okay Seth. This has never happened before. Its's okay." And she meant it._

 _Another time Seth had accidentally attracted a bunch of dark creatures to Fablehaven's gates. That, was when his family had turned against him._

It wasn't his fault his power was growing stronger! Grandpa had told him it took a great amount of energy to attract a dark creature. The was what scared him now.

He was sitting in the darkness, his back against a think spruce. He had two blanckets around him, along with some warmer clothes. But he was still freezing.

He wondered what Kendra and Warren were doing now. Were they trying to search for him? He hoped not. He wasn't going back.

After leaving Fablehaven, he had run for half-a-hour, with a few breaks, before he set camp in a nearly forest. Now, here he was, freezing to death. All alone.

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A few week had passed, and Kendra was getting worried. Bracken had sent group of faries to search for Seth, as they were worried of him too. They didn't think of him as an enemy. Yet... all of them returned with no news of her little brother.

" They're going to find him, Kendra." Turning around she saw Warren walking towards her. He sat next to Kendra, crossing his legs.

" How can you be sure? I mean... they really hurt him. Even if the faries find him, I don't think he wants to come back. "

" It's better for us if he doesn't."

Mr. Sorenson was walking towards them, with a grim expression.

" He's just a danger to us."

Kendra felt herself full with hate again, but before she could lunge herself at her father, Warren grabbed her by the arm.

" Don't. "

But Kendra pulled her hand free. She had had enough of all this. Her family couldn't stop talking about how dangerous, and heartless Seth was.

But she knew it wasn't true.

" How is he a danger to us?"

" How? He hurt you! Burned your hand! He could have killed you, for all I know!"

" Then tell me, _Dad_ , why didn't he attack me, or Bracken or anyone at that fact, when he had a chance to."

Mr. Sorenson opened his mouth, but closed it again as there was nothing he could say.

" That's what I thought. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for a trip. I'm going to find my brother."

Then she walked past him, running into his shoulder, keeping her chin high. She had to find Seth. At least to make sure he was safe. And she wouldn't let the people she once called family stop her.


	5. Summoning

_**Hi, guys! * sigh * I need to stop starting these chapters like this. Anyway, I got a review from ZephyrVibes. I want to thank you personally about your idea for this story. I've decided to use this to use your idea, as I had a idea similar to yours. The next twp chapters will be focusing on this idea.**_

 _ **Enjoy, and remember... all credit goes to ZephyrVibes!**_

Seth was hiding behind a tree, trying not to get caught by the group of fairies. He had seen similar ones, around the forest. He knew they were searching for him, as he recognized them as the fairies from Fablehaven.

Taking a deep breath, Seth peered around the tree, trying to see which way the fairies were heading. That was his first mistake.

Just as his appeared from behind the tree, a beautiful fairy with a purple dress and black hair, spotted him.

" There!" she shouted with a high voice, making the other fairies to turn around. Seeing the young boy behind the tree their faces lit up, and they immediately started flying towards him. But Seth didn't want to be seen. So immediately after the fairies had started towards him, he turned around and started running as hard as he could.

" Quickly, everyone! We can't lose him!" Glancing back, Seth saw the fairies gaining on him. When they were only a few meters away, he felt a tugging in his stomach.

 _No!_ He thought. _Not again!_

He remembered the time, a few months ago, when one of the wraiths in Fablehaven had somehow gotten free from its prison, and started attacking the fairies. While everyone else had been terrified of the dark creature, Seth had been the one to stop it.

 _Fairies were screaming and flying all over the yard, when Seth ran through the front door, despite his family's objection. knowing that it the fairies touched the wraith it would kill them instantly, he ran in front of the group of shaking creatures._

 _" Stop!" he shouted, but nothing happened. " I said STOP!"_

 _The wraith paused as if it had hit a wall. Then it bowed its head towards Seth._

 _" What is it that you command, Master?"_

 _Seth was taken by surprise. Master? What was the wraith talking about?_

 _" My command?" Seth asked, still slightly puzzled. Byt he knew what to do. " You will return to your prison, immediately. There will be no fighting, and you will go in with no objections. "_

 _" As you wish, Master."_

 _The wraith had drifted slowly towards the house, and into the Hall of Dread, where it resumed its old place._

 _The fairies had immediately started thanking Seth, along with Kendra, Warren and Bracken. But the others were staring at the boy in horror. No one had controlled a wraith before, without a deal. Though they didn't trust Seth anymore, this had proven what they had been only thinking about. Seth was allied with darkness. If he could control wraith, what would stop him from controlling other creatures?_

So Seth could control dark creatures. It hadn't happened since, but now he felt the same kind of tugging in his gut as when he had commanded the spirit.

Everything seemed to darken, the sky, the shadows. Silence took over the forest, not a single sound was heard, except Seth's footsteps, and the small shouts of the fairies, pleading for him to stop.

That's when a black shadow jumped from Seth's left, right at him, forcing him to jump onto the muddy ground.

Turning around onto his back, he saw what the thing was. It resembled a wolf, except it was three meters long. its eyes were black, and Seth flinched as it growled, showing the ten centimeter long fangs.

But it wasn't looking at Seth. It was going for the fairies.

 _Why is it always the fairies?_ Seth thought before jumping up onto his feet. The wolf was ready to pounce towards the fairies, when Seth placed a hand on top and below its snout, closing it. He wasn't scared of the creature, yet he didn't know why.

The wolf turned its head toward the boy, but it wasn't planning on attacking. It liked the boys touch. And his voice.

" Stop. Don't attack them." Seth slid his hand across the wolf's head, making it lick its lips, and push against him playfully. Seth smiled. Then a sudden urge came over him, and he hoisted himself onto the creatures back. It didn't do anything to stop him.

Looking at the fairies, he could see they were crowded together, hands around each other, shaking.

" Don't come after me." And with that, in his mind he urged the wolf to run North, away from the fairies. The wolf seemed to hear him, as it turned, quickly leaving the small confused creatures behind.

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Kendra was shocked after hearing the story. Seth had summoned a dark creature? She wasn't sure if she should believe what she was hearing. Was Seth's power actually strong enough to _summon_ a dark creature. It was different to control something a creature.

Kendra's search for him had lasted a week. Warren had accompanied her, while Bracken controlled the fairies. This was the first sighting of Seth in a month. She had come to the conclusion, that Seth had been hunting for food in the wild, and surviving the cold nights with only blankets.

He hadn't learned how to produce a flame, and the ground was always wet, for it was raining every other day. Kendra was worried. Seth couldn't live like that, not for long at least. Winter was coming, and if he didn't find shelter, he would freeze to death. And he probably wouldn't try to seek shelter from the village not far away from Fablehaven. He would think it was too close to them.

She was really getting worried.

" I hope you're all right, Seth. I hope you're safe."

What she didn't know, was that her brother had just whispered the same words, into the wind.


	6. Plans

**_I will not start this chapter with Hey, guys! as I already said last one. First off, I have to do my first and last disclamer. None of these characters are mine, all belong to Brandon Mull, except a few._**

 **** ** _Again I am using an idea from a reviewer, Hassan. Thank you!_**

 **** ** _I hope you like this chapter! Enjoy!_**

It hadn't been a day after the fairies had come back, before a huge shadow spread over Fablehaven. Startled everyone ran outside, only to suddenly hear a large crash, and a blinding white light filled the sky.

When the light faded, the Sorensons were staring at a magnificent black dragon. Though very similar to Navarog, it was a _lot_ bigger. Kendra had to crane her neck to see even half of it.

Bracken immediately stepped in front of Kendra, shielding her from the creature.

"Seth Sorenson." The voice was very low, and it sounded like growling. Kendra felt fear growing, for herself and her brother. What did the dragon want with Seth? " Come out, boy."

" He's not here!" Grandpa shouted at the creature, trying to make his voice heard.

" He isn't? So where is he?"

" Why do you want to know? Who are you anyway?" Kendra asked, as she stepped beside the fairy prince.

" Me? I am Gzerth. I'm a demon, as you might guess. "

" You still haven't answered her other question. Why do you want to know where Seth is?" This time it was Bracken who spoke.

" I want to know where he is, so that I can see that he gets punished they way he deserves."

" Punished for what?"

Gzerth looked like the answer would be obvious.

" He's a Shadow Charmer. Yet he sided with light creatures, and helped them lock the other demons away. He betrayed his own kind."

" You want to hurt him for not wanting to be a monster? "

Gzerth spread his wings and lifted himself into the air. As he started rising, he answered.

" I don't just want to hurt him. " Kendra's heart stopped with his next words. " I want to kill him."

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Seth leaned on a rock, while he scratched Thames' head. That was the name Seth had given his new wolf friend. The black beast was lying on its side next to him, eyes searching for any movement.

 _"_ _Calm down, buddy. "_ He says laughing. Thames raises his head, looking into his masters.

 _"_ _You never know what might be out there."_ It speaks in Darktone. Darktone was the language that dark creatures used. In the two weeks Seth had spent with the wolf, he had started talking it, without even noticing.

His powers were getting stronger, too. He could sense animals nearby. Dark animals. They had passed a few, two of which had blocked their path, and Seth had discovered, that by only thinking of the creature moving it immediately obeyed.

But it did spend his strength. The larger the creature, the harder it was to control it. He had practised controlling with Thames. The wolf would obey everything he said.

Seth was just going to answer, when a loud crash came from their left ,and he suddenly felt immense fear burn inside him.

Thames jumped up, accidentally pushing Seth to the ground. He started snarling at the black and spider-like creature, that had appeared from the trees.

The creature had no eyes or mouth, but somehow it managed to let out a tremendous roar. Then it attacked. Thames reflected its first move, but got a gash on his side. blood instantly stained his fur, and Thames stumbled to the right to avoid another wound.

after fighting a minute, the creature throws Thames at a thick tree, knocking him unconscious. Then it turns to stare at Seth.

Now on his feet, Seth lunges behind a large oak, avoiding being shredded by gigantic claws. Glancing at Thames, Seth notices that the wolf was trying to get up, meaning he probably hadn't hit his head hard on the tree.

Seth turned, only to find himself staring at the creature.

 _"_ _Stay back!"_ He shouted in Darktone, but his command had no reaction, other than the creature roaring again. " _No! Stay back!"_

He rolled out of the reach of the monster, but it pounced on him, changing direction in no less than half-a-second.

 _"_ _You will not survive, Seth Sorenson._ _ **He**_ _is coming. Beware."_

And with that he leapt over the young Shadow Charmer, charging into the forest.

The fight had happened so fast, that Seth didn't even truly register what was happening. But what he did notice was the exhaustion spreading inside him. It took over his head just as Thames appeared in his view.

 _"_ _Master! Are you hurt? Master!"_ Thames' worried words felt far away, and finally, giving in on oblivion, Seth closed his eyes.

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Inside his hideout, Gzerth lay, glowing eyes full of rage. He wanted to kill the boy so bad, that it hurt. Set Sorenson had destroyed everything he had.

For millenia, Gzerth had been planning that moment. The moment as Zzyzx opened, he would take the throne and become the ruler of all demons. But of course that was when Seth had appeared. Killing two demons, and providing his sister with Vasilis, he had spoiled his plans.

As the blade had killed many demons, it was only an instinct for gzerth to think twice. As the Demon King went down, his hopes were destroyed. He would have had to win the crown in a battle, for it to be possible to claim the crown.

And with the demons weakened after years of captivity, it wouldn't have been too hard. But it was Seth, who spoiled everything.

So that day Gzerth had made sworn to kill the boy. And he would keep to his word.


	7. Changing

Seth woke up lying down next to a warm body. Blinking a few times, he turned his head to look at Thames, who was lying on the ground eyes darting from left to right searching for danger.

When the wolf saw Seth awake, it immediately started licking his face.

" _Woah, calm down, buddy!"_ He said, attempting to push Thames' head away, while sitting up.

" _Master! I was worried!"_ Thames pulled his head back, and Seth could see his tail swinging from side to side. The teenager couldn't help but smile.

" _I thought we agreed with you not calling me Master."_

Thames bent his ears back, and lowered his head, as if ashamed. Seth rbed his hand between his friends ears.

" _It's okay. Just... please use my real name. "_

Thames immediately lifted his head, clearly relieved that Seth wasn't mad at him. It felt good, when Seth scrached his head. He absolutely loved it.

The moon was shining though the tree tops above them. Though he had been unconcsious for God knows how long, he was exhausted.

Laying back down, he snuggled closer to Thames, who had lied down from his sitting posisition. Even with the chilly air blowing from the East, he didn't feel cold. With Thames' paw over him, Seth drifted into a deep, uneventful sleep.

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 _Four moths later..._

Kendra sat on Seth's bed, sliding her hand over the covers. In her right hand, she held the note,her brother had left.

After Gzerth had disappeared , Grandpa had immediately rushed inside, and called for an emergancy meeting.

Not that it could really be called a meeting, as it lasted about fifteen seconds, and only about two sentences were said. Kendra could see, that her family was back to normal.

Something had changed in them, since Zzyzx.

Seeing them all together, planning on how to find Seth, madeher heart melt. It had been such a hard time living amongst people who hated her brother. But now they were all sending messages and making calls, doing everything they could to help.

But even after four months of searching by professionals, no clue had been found of his whereabouts. It seemed as if he had been whiped off Earth.

There was a knock on the door, and Bracken entered.

" Hey."

" Hey." Kendra said, smiling sadly.

The fairy prince sat next to her, putting a hand around her shoulders.

" Bracken... Do you think... he might be... _dead_?"

Bracken looked like Kendra had just told him she was going to jump off a cliff.

" No! Of course not. Listen..." He knelt down on the floor in front of Kendra. " We're going to find him. We've got the best searchers after him, and-"

" Bracken, it's been five months! Five! "

tears started forming in her eyes, and Bracken got up, pulling her in his arms.

" We're going to find him. I promise. I'll do everything I can. Even if I have to crawl through Zzyzx and back. "

Despite her terrible mood, Kendra couldn't help but smile.

" Thank you, Bracken. Thank you for everything."

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He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't think this was normal. Even for a Shadow Charmer.

He had found a cave with Thames only days after the fight with the giant spider. It was nearly sixty feet long, and as high as five meters.

It was shelter from the cold weather, and a good hiding place. Many powerful dark creatures had tried attacking them, but Thames had always fround a way to protect him, if he couldn't control the creature.

Seth had learned how to use dark magic, but only used them when he had to.

He could make a small distraction spell, to forexample lure a prey to Thame, who then took it down. Or a barrier around his body, blocking off some attacks.

But today, something in him had changed.

He had woken up from his sleep, by a weird feeling between his shoulder blades. If felt like something was trying to push its way through the skin on his back. Itdidn't hurt, but it felt a little unconfortable.

Quickly sitting up, he had woken up Thames, who he had learned was a light sleeper. The large wolf lifted its head, and looked at Seth with curious and alert eyes.

" _Is something wrong?"_ it asked, but Seth couldn't answer, as suddenly something burst out of his back.

Large feathery black wings appeared on the side of his vision. His mouth was hanging open, as with terrified eyes he tried to turn around to look at his new limbs.

" What the-"

Standing up, he nearly lost his balance. Those things were heavy! Thames looked equally suprised. In fact, he seemed speechless.

Measuring up to 1,7 meters in length, and 6 centimeters in thickness, the wings were black as midnight.

Carefully walked over to the wall for support. Thames followed him, clearly shocked.

Then, slowly Seth tried lifting the left wing. _His_ wing. The black limb rose into the air, and Seth felt suprised it felt the same way as moving his hand.

Now was the right wing's turn. It moved the exact same way. Seth tried flapping the wings. He found himself rise into the air for a moment before landing on his feet again.

" This is... new." Seth said turning to Thames. Even though the wolf was a dark creature, he could understand English as well as Darktone.

" _I've heard of a legend that said something about this. It's usually told to my kind by our parents. It says, that thousands of years ago, lived a Shadow Charmer, so powerful, that he grew wings._

" _He was called Geldergrath. He lead somekind of army of dark creatures against the Fairy Queen. Of course he lost but... he did make a dangerous and strong foe to anyone whostood in his way. Even the Fairy Queen. "_

" _And that means..."_ Seth asked, doing a movement with his hand, indicating that he wanted Thames to continue.

" _It means your a strong Shadow Charmer. Strong as in legendary. Well maybe no yet, but someday."_

Glancing back at his wings, Seth reached out and stroked the feathers. That's when his eyes started burning.

" Aaaaah!" he screamed, covering his eyes with his hands.

" _Seth! What happened? Are you okay?"_ Thames asked clearly worried, as Seth stumbled and fell to the ground, gasping.

Eyes shut tight, he tried to calm his breathing. The pain had been only momentary, but he still laid there, from the shock.

" _I'm okay. I'm okay."_ He assured Thames. When he opened his eyes, he saw his friend back up.

" _Seth! Your eyes! They're..."_ He seemed to be unable to get the words out. _" Seth, your eyes are golden."_

Again Seth's mouth fell agape. Using magic, quickly formed a mirror out of the air, and looked at his reflection.

True to Thames' words, his eyes had turned a golden colour. His hair had also turned pitch black. Only seconds later his clothes started changing.

His shirt turned to black leather, as well as his pants turned into some dark , but protective material. Leather boots formed over his legs, coming up to his knees.

Looking at himself, he resembled a person from the 15th century.

" _What, just happened?"_ Thames asked, sending the telepathic messge while walking up behind Seth. As he turned around from the mirror, it dissolved.

" _What's happening? Why am I changing?"_ Not being able to use telepathy, his voice was the only thing in the echoing cave.

" _I don't know. But it seemes as if you're growing stronger. I can sense powerful energy coming from you."_

" _I do feel different. "_

Suddenly, without no apparent reason, Thames punced on him, snarling.

Without even thinking, Seth flapped his wings, and rose into the air. Looking down, horrified from the sudden threatning act by his friend, Seth saw Thames sitting on the ground looking up at him.

" _Your reflexes have encreased significantly. I wouldn't be suprised if you would hear and see much better. "_

" _That was just a test?"_ Seth practically screamed, as he hovered to the ground again. _" Never, ever, scare me like that again!"_

Thames seemed pleased with himself.

" _I needed a real reaction from you."_

" _Well, you got one!"_

Thames made a sound, which Seth took as a laugh. He couldn't stop one escaping him either.

" _Thames... I have this.. feeling. Like somethings out there looking for us. Someone behind those attacks."_

Thames nodded. Seth was still surprised how much the wolf's personality resembled a human's.

" _I feel the same way. And if there really is someone... I have a feeling, our life is going to change. And I don't think it'll be for the better."_

Though he wanted, Seth couldn't deny his words.

 ***** I will write more chapters. But only if I get at least one review from THIS chapter. I've got good ideas for the next chapters. There will be something to do with Gzerth, and maybe some other dark creatures joining Seth.**

 **If I get two reviews I will write the whole story. Hope you like it! See you!*****


	8. Jail Break

***** I am SOOO sorry I haven't updated, I've just been so caught up in school and everything, you know. Now, I've got an awesome idea from CrysyalDemigod, thank you so much, so these next few chapters will be focusing on that. Please enjoy, and ideas for new chapters are always welcome!*****

He was going to do it. His heart was beating fast, so fast he thought it might burst out of his chest.

Creeping around the hallways of Living Mirage, using his ability to shadow walk, Seth, crept around another guard. It had been a few weeks since he had sprouted his wings, and within only a week, he had attracted and found three new allies. All of them dark creatures, as you might guess.

Shenara, an eagle, black and grey was the first one to appear. She was very anxious to show, that she could be trusted. She had gone scouting around, always bringing in information of other creatures, making sure to find out of their intentions as much as possible.

Ketah, a fallen pegasus had shown up only a few days after Shenara. He was clearly as excited of proving his loyalty to him as Shenara... well, nearly as excited. Nothing could pass the excitement of the young female. Black with white only on his lower legs, Ketah was a strong pegasus. He was also very interested in human languages.

And finally, Natana, a female minotaur. Her fur brown, she could move through the forest surprisingly quiet, and undetected. Though her horns weren't long, they were about three inches long, enough to ingure someone or something bad.

In the time they had been there, Seth had learned to trust them, and so had Thames. But now, the only creatures with him were Thames and Shenara.

While Shenara was scouting around the Living Mirage, looking for trouble, Thames was waiting outside, ready to take off with Seth once he had gotten what he came here for. The Sphinx.

After a long time of thinking, and measuring the risks, Seth and Thames had come to the conclusion, that they had to get the Sphinx out of his prison. As the only other Shadow Charmer they knew about, he was the only one who could help Seth control his power. It was a huge risk, but it was one they had to take.

Turning around the corner, Seth came to a hallway, with torches lined along the walls, and a single door at the end. To a normal person it would've seemed like a normal hallway, but as one of his abilities as a Shadow Charmer, Seth saw through the distraction spell that was set on the floor, only to find himself looking at a deep ravine, with a few floating stones to step on to get to the other side.

Taking a deep breath, Seth walked forward, making sure to stay in the shadows. Once he was on the edge of the ravine, Seth peered down, but all he could see was darkness. It seemed that the bottom as too far away to be seen. That was, if the ravine even had a bottom.

Taking a step forward, Seth put his foot onto one of the slabs. Once he put pressure on the slab, he felt it give away under his foot.

Immediately drawing back, nearly falling over, Seth watched the slab disappear for a few seconds, before shimmering back into existence. He would have to run over the slabs before they disappeared. He would rather just fly over the obstacle, but the hallway was too narrow.

Tucking his wings close to his back, Seth backed away a few paces, before rushing forward.

Leaping from slab to slab was easy first, but when the space between became over a meter, be started struggling. It didn't really help that on his last leap to the other side, his leg slipped making him almost fall into the ravine. He would have fallen if he wouldn't have grabbed the stone edge in time.

Pulling himself up, Seth ended up having to rush into the shadows as a guard peered around the corner, clearly trying to listen to something. Not daring to move an inch, Seth willed the guard to leave in his mind, and in a few moments he did.

Waiting for a few more minutes to make sure the guard had no intentions of coming around the corner soon, Seth finally walked over to the door. Made out of strong iron, it had golden carvings around the edges, but the lock was something that surprised him. Not because it would be complicated, but because the lock looked like a normal one. The same kind they use in public bathrooms!

After a quick look over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking, Seth cupped a hand around the lock, willing the gears to turn around in the lock, and after a few moments, he heard a silent click, as the lock opened. Grabbing the iron handle of the door, the teenager pulled. The door opened without a sound, making it easy for Seth to slip inside.

Whatever was behind the door, was not something he was expecting. Thinking that the Sphinx was held in a dirty sell with a filthy blanket and maybe a boring book, Seth did not expect to see a huge room with a king sized bed, a kitchen, living room, and a small door, presumably leading into the bathroom.

The Sphinx was sitting on the couch, with a thick book in his lap, eyes scanning the words, when Seth walked in. Lifting his eyes, from the book, a smile spread across his face, soon to be replaced by confusion as he saw the drastic changes Seth had gone through.

With the ability to form things out of thin air, Seth had been able to shower in normally, not in a small puddle outside the cave, but otherwise he hadn't thought of cutting his hair, making it come down below his ears, almost touching his shoulders.

And then of course there was the large, black feathery wings, and his golden eyes.

" I don't know what to say, but I don't think I have time to do it anyway, because it seems that you aren't here for a visit. " Not the first thing Seth thought he'd hear, but he was glad that the Sphinx saw the obvious.

" Yeah, it hasn't really been a ride of joy sneaking in here. Anyway, I need your help."

Rising from the couch, the Sphinx set down the book, walked over to the boy, brows together.

Taking a deep breath, Seth faced the older Shadow Charmer. " I need you to teach me. I need you, to mentor me. I'm not... I'm losing control, of my powers. You _have_ to _train_ me."

The Sphinx gave him a long look, mouth in a thin line, before looking away sadly.

" Trust me, Seth, I would me _more_ than willing to train you, but if I leave this room, if I'm in no contact with it at all, I'll turn into dust. My body will catch up with all the years I've lived. I wouldn't survive in the outside world without the Essence of Immortality. "

Sighing, Seth placed his hands behind his neck and turned around frustrated. Tears were fighting their way into his eyes, but he fought them back. The Sphinx was the only one who could help him. Then a thought hit him, and he turned around.

" You said you need to be in _contact_ with his room, right?" The Sphinx nodded. " And you want to get out of this room, even if it might hurt you a bit?" Another nod. " Ok. Do you have a needle and some thread?"

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Kendra turned over the last page of the photo album, before closing it, and placing it on her desk. For weeks now, she had been going through the old pictures of the family, trying to keep the image of Seth in her mind. It had been almost a year, since her little brother had run away. A year! All Kendra could hope for, was that he was still alive.

Who knew, he could be laying dead, rotting at the bottom of a cliff.

" No!" Kendra commanded herself. " He's alive, and he's alright."

Just then, Warren barged into the room, almost ripping the door off its hinges, crashing onto the floor, before quickly getting up.

" Downstairs! Now!"

Kendra jumped up, and rushed down the stairs, Warren only steps behind her. As she came into the living room, she saw Grandpa pacing around in the middle, with everyone else looking worried.

" What is it?" As she spoke, everyone tuned to look at her. Grandpa stepped forward.

" Kendra, you cannot tell this to anyone, for it might be disasterous if you do. Do you understand?" Kendra nodded. Grandpa shot a glance at Grandma, who was sitting behind him on the couch, before turning back to his grandchild.

" The Sphinx has escaped."

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Seth waved through the shadows, making sure the Sphinx was still following him. He couldn't believe his plan had worked! He hadn't even been sure it was a plan!

After the Sphinx had told him he needed to be in contact with the room, the " plan " started forming in his mind. As he asked for a needle and some string, he pulled out a small knife he had made, from his pocket.

The Sphinx scrunched his brows. " What are you going to do with that?"

Instead of answering, Seth grabbed the man's arm, and cut a wound in it, about two inches long. Letting out a startled and pained cry, the Sphinx pulled his hand away.

" What are you doing?"

" Getting you out of here, so shut up." Then he moved to a wall, and started staring at it, imagining every dark thought he could, and concentrated it on one spot. Soon enough the wall cracks, making small pieces of concrete flying around.

Crouching down, he lifted a piece, about two centimetres, and walked back over to the Sphinx. Though the man did not back away, he still looked at Seth suspiciously.

" I don't like this idea."

" You want to get out of here? This is the only way. " And with that he stuck the piece of concrete into the wound.

The Sphinx let out a scream, but Seth was already threading a needle to sow the wound shut. It was obvious the stitching hurt, but instead of shouting again, the Sphinx only bit his lip. When the job was finally done, the man's arm was covered in blood, but the liquid came off when Seth cleaned it with some water from the kitchen sink.

Then he walked to the door he had left open, motioning to the older Shadow Charmer to follow. Understanding immediately showed on his face.

" I see your plan now. But it's a big risk."

" It's either a big risk, or it's you stay here for the next three millenia. " Along with those cheerful words, without giving a second glance, the Sphinx stepped out of the cell. Without turning into dust.

Relief washed over his face, as he smiled. But he didn't get much of a chance to celebrate the moment, as Seth was already pulling him towards the obstacle. He had closed the door, trying to make it harder for the guards to notice that the Sphinx missing.

Getting by the guards and the slabs wasn't as easy now that he had the Sphinx with him, but they managed to exit the building in about fifteen minutes. When they did, they started running.

As they got about a mile away, the Shadow Charmers were greeted by a happy screech. Soon enough Shenara came flying down, and perched herself on Seth's outstretched arm, as he slowed down.

 _"_ _We're so glad you made it out. It seems that you succeeded with the plan. But please, he must get back to Thames, he's been worried sick, he almost went after you five minutes after you had left."_

Seth gave out a little laugh, letting out all the tension that had been building up inside him. He the motioned to the confused man behind him, barely visible in the shadows to follow him. They we're going to have to hurry, before Thames started an apocalypse.


	9. Loss

***** Sorry for not updating for a while. Again, credit goes to CrystalDemigod! Anyways, here's another chapter, it won't be long, but I hope you enjoy it!*****

Training with the Sphinx was _not_ easy. It turned out to be a pain. Seth would find himself eating breakfast; some meat Thames and Shenara had hunted, and then _Boom!_ he's being thrown back against the stone wall of the cave, by a wave of darkness, almost making him choke, every single time. And yes, it had happened more than once.

"Never let your guard down! Never lose focus!" The Sphinx would say, as if trying to hammer it in his mind. "You never know when somebody might attack. One moment you think you're safe, and in the other you have a dagger in your chest!"

Seth groaned, remembering those words, as he lifted himself from the ground, where the Sphinx had shot him down, while he was flying.

"Siriously? Can't a man have his morning flight in peace?" he asked, only half-jokingly. "You do that almost every morning!"

"And still you don't learn!" the Sphinx shot back, as he walked over to his apprentice, out of the shadows of the trees where he had been hiding. "Seth, _always,_ keep your senses alert."

Seth fought back a snappy comeback, knowing that it wouldn't do anything. He had made a mistake, again, and there was no denying it.

"I didn't bust you out of prison, to have you shoot me out of the sky." he mumbled, and the Sphinx smiled secretly. Then he turned serious.

"Seth… the search parties your family has sent after you, are getting closer and closer to our hiding place. It's getting dangerous for them… and us. I think… I think it's time you faked your own death. "

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Kendra was getting ready for bed, when she heard commotion coming from downstairs. She immediately placed down the brush she had been combing her hair with, and bolted down the stairs.

Had the Sphinx been caught? It had been three weeks since he broke out, and this might be the first sighting of him in that time.

When she came into the living room, she was almost knocked over by Warren, as he sped past her.

" Sorry!" he said over his shoulder, as he grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger, and pulled on his knee-high leather boots, before rushing out of the front door, heading towards the BMW in the driveway.

Slowly turning around, away from her cousin speeding away, Kendra saw her grandparents running from room to room, smiles spread across their faces, while her parents were standing next to the wall, in each others arms, tears glistening in their eyes.

" What's going on? Why is everyone so happy?" Kendra was frowning, confused. What could have happened to make the family so exited?  
" It's the fairies." her mother answered. " They… they think they've found Seth."

Before she even understood what was happening, Kendra found herself wrapping her arms around her parents, as they pulled her into a hug.

Tears welled in her eyes, as she thought about seeing her brother again. After an entire year had passed, could her dreams finally be coming true?

" Warren sent out to the place the fairies said they sensed him. It's only about fifty miles away, and the fairies are positive that it's him. "

Mr. Sorenson, planted a kiss on Kendra's head, and one on Mrs. Sorenson's cheek.

" Warren's going to find him. Seth's coming home."

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Heart beating, Warren couldn't help but fell worried, when his eyes landed upon the ravine somewhat thirty meters ahead. The fairies had told him exactly where they sensed they had sensed Seth, and Warren was sure he had followed the instruction correctly. But why had it led him to a ravine?

The fairies had told him, they couldn't come close, or the darkness might hurt them, so he had no way of confirming that he was in the right place, other than actually finding Seth.

Slowly walking over to the precipice, Warren watched his step carefully. The ground was wet, so he had to be careful not to slip.

Once he was about two meters from the edge, the young man flattened himself against the earth, and crawled the rest of the way.

Despite the carefulness he had put into not falling, he almost did as he peered over the edge.

For there, lying on the ground, about thirty feet below, was Seth. Lifeless.

Blood was splattered around him, on the rocks, and walls. His shirt was dirty and ripped, filled with red spots. His was laying on his back, knees bent to the side, one hand next to his face, the other, straight, next to his side, palm up.

Salty drops ran down Warren's face, but he didn't notice them. All he could focus on, was the body, that had once run around the gardens of Fablehaven, alive, inhabiting the mind of a young boy. A boy, Warren had loved.

 _I need to take him back,_ Warren thought. _He deserves a proper funeral._

Everything happened in a blur; in only a few minutes, Warren had taken a rope out of his bag, tied it around the tree, made a harness of it and descended into the ravine. It took him about two minutes, but felt like a longer time. Once his feet touched the ground, he scrambled out of the harness, and ran to the boy.

Seth was laying on the ground, eyes closed, with absolutely no sign of life. Still, Warren pressed two fingers on his neck, trying to find a pulse, that didn't exist.

When the truth dawned on him, Warren cradled the boy in his arms, crying. Sobs racked his body, as he held the slightly smaller body close to his own. Seth's brown hair was soaked in blood, and now Warren had a red stain on his shirt.

" Come on, buddy. You can't die… not like this…" Warren whispered the words repeatedly, as if believing, that Seth would magically come back to life. " Not like this…"

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When the BMW had driven into the driveway, Kendra had expected to see Warren leap out of the car, smiling from ear to ear, Seth behind him. But what she didn't expect see, was Warren step out of the car, _crying_.

"Warren? What's wrong?" Dale asked, and his little brother lifted his tear stained face. The younger man opened him mouth to say something, but instead burst into gigantic sobs, before running past everyone, back into the house. "Warren!"

As Dale turned to go after his brother, Bracken walked over to the car, and opened the door to the backseat. Kendra saw him freeze, as his eyes landed upon something inside the car. She could see his lips moving in a small word: _No…_

He reached into the car, and lifted something out, and set it on the ground. No. Someone.

Kendra covered her mouth with both hands, as she watched Bracken fall to his knees beside the still form of her brother.

"No!" The cry was torn from her throat, as she rushed to the young boy. "No, please no!"

She didn't pay attention to anything around her, not even her sobbing parents or grandparents. It seemed as if all the light had gone from the world. Her brother was dead.

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Gzerth was sitting in his cave, taking in the news.

"He must have faked his death. I can sense he's still out there." he mumbled to himself, more than to the messenger cowering in front of him. "If he's able to create a replica of himself, even a lifeless one, his powers must have grown stronger. I want you, and your herd to keep an eye out for him. "

The messenger bowed his black head. It was a shadow horse, made of solid shadows. Blacker than black, the horse's mane, was waving all over the place, like a flame. Then, it turned around, letting out a piercing neigh, and within a few seconds there were tens of them, surrounding the first one.

Together, they all disappeared into the forest, with the demon staring after them.

 ***** Soooo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are appreciated!*****


	10. 2 years later

***** So, the story is near the end, guys! Ideas are still welcome, and warning… this chapter will end in a cliff hanger. I'll need at least one review for the next chapter. Enjoy! *****

 _2 years later…_

Kendra sat on the ground, next to Seth's grave, soothing the grass with her hand. Seth's grave. Even after two _years_ , she couldn't believe it was there.

After Warren had brought his body back, the whole family had cried next to it, for hours and hours on end.

Bracken had to literally tore Kendra away from her brother, so that he could be taken inside. She had screamed, and kicked, but Bracken's grip had been like stone.

 _"_ _No! Seth! NOOO!" she had screamed, feeling her heart being torn to pieces. Finally she had just collapsed to the ground, Bracken's arms around her._

Now, she had gotten used to the pain. But it hadn't disappeared.

" It's your seventeenth birthday, Seth. " she whispered, staring at the words written on his tombstone. " It was always the day you were looking up to. And now that it's here, you aren't able to celebrate it."

There was sadness in her voice, but she pushed it away with a small smile, and gently placed down the bundle of flowers she had been holding in her other hand.

" Happy birthday, Seth."

With those words, she rose, and headed back towards the house.

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Seth threw another vase at the wall, barely missing the Sphinx, as he waked inside the cave.

" Urgh!" Seth screamed, enraged by the recent attack by Gzerth. Well, not Gzerth himself, but dark creatures he had sent. Which, Seth was not able to control without feeling immense pain.

" Seth, remember when I told you about Gzerth?" the Shpinx asked, walking over to his seething apprentice. " He wants you to get angry. To lose control. Don't bend to his will. "

Seth closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then he nodded, and rubbed his face.

" You're right. It's just… I've got all the creatures to take care of. To protect."

In the last two years, his powers had attracted nearly five hundred dark creatures. They had all pledged loyalty to him, which had at first taken him by surprise.

All the creatures were now living close to the cave, close enough to be called in an emergency. But still Seth was worried, that if _they_ had an emergency, he wouldn't get there in time. Besides, the Shadow Horses - or what Seth liked to call them; Night Mares – were extremely fast, and dangerous, and almost impossible to catch or see. They were usually the prime subjects for an attack.

" Seth, the creatures know how to protect themselves. They'll send for you if they need your help." the Sphinx said, trying to assure him.

" But what if there's no one to be sent to get help?"

To that question, the Sphinx didn't have an answer.

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 _3 weeks later…_

Gzerth had appeared out of nowhere. Kendra had been reading in her room, when she had heard a gigantic thump from outside the house, and found tons of black scales just out her window, when she peered outside.

It took about half a second, for the whole family to rush outside, to find the massive dragon, snarling down at them.

" What do you want?" Grandpa screamed up to the demon.

" What I've always wanted, since Zzyzx was sealed. Seth Sorenson." The booming voice sent shivers down Kendra's spine. Still, she stepped forward and with a shaky voice, answered.

" Seth's dead. He died two years ago."

Gzerth turned his head towards the girl, eyes glowing.

" Are you sure?"

" Of course I am; Warren brought his body back." Kendra felt a lump in her throat, but pushed it back down.

" You're sure it was him-"

" I saw him with my own-" Kendra interrupted, but was silenced by Gzerth's next words.

"- and not just a hoax to make you stop searching for him?"

The silence was only broken by the wind blowing in the trees.

" You've underestimated your brother, Kendra. "

But Kendra didn't register the words.

 _Seth's alive?_ was all she could think of.

" What makes you think he'll come here? We haven't seen him three years." Grandpa was saying.

Gzerth shook his massive head, as if disappointed.

" He'll come. If not-"

Gzerth bared his teeth, but before he could continue, the clear blue sky darkened with grey clouds, that had appeared out of nowhere. Not long after that, a loud sound filled the air, and the barrier around Fablehaven shone a light blue, making it visible for everyone to see.

 _Thump… Thump… KA-BOOM!_

The barrier exploded in a rain of what looked like glass, but none of the shards hit them. Instead, they dissolved, just about nine meters above ground.

Gzerth lifted his head, and turned it towards the gates of the preserve.

" He's here."


	11. Back to Fablehaven

***** Thank you ZebhyrVibes, Guest and JohnSmith for the reviews. This will be a short chapter again, but I hope you like it! There will be Darktone spoken in it, translation after. Enjoy!*****

Seth stared at the letter, now crumbled in his white-knuckled fist. He was seething, eyes blazing, darkness curling around the cave. The Sphinx was trying to calm him down, but the younger Shadow Charmer was too fixated on draining all the light from the room.

 _How dare he lay a hand on his family? He wasn't happy with the attacks on him, and his allies, but his family was off limits._

Then there were these questions in his head. Why hadn't Gzerth just speak to Seth directly? Why ask him to come to Fablehaven? How did the gigantic dragon even write with its massive claws?

Over the tenth time, Seth read the letter again.

 _Seth Sorenson_

 _I am offering you, a peace treaty. After years of attacks, and hating, I am finally ready, to propose an alliance. We have a common enemy, the Fairy Queen. We're both dark creatures, I am a demon, you're a Shadow Charmer._

 _Even if you do not agree, to fighting the Fairy Queen, it will be your only choice. I am holding your family hostage, and if you fail to cooperate…_

 _I'll be expecting you at Fablehaven by midday. See that you are there._

 _Gzerth_

Seth knew it was no peace treaty. For years, the demon had been after him, and it wasn't like it was going to change suddenly. But he couldn't ignore the threat. His family was in danger! And he couldn't let them get hurt. Not even Grandma or Grandpa, Mrs. Sorenson or , Dale… they were all family.

Strong arms gripped the teenager's shoulders, and he spun around. The darkness dissolved, and Seth saw the brown eyes of the Sphinx, staring into his own.

" What is it, Seth? What happened?"

" Gzerth has my family." There was a new steeliness in his voice, which made the Sphinx flinch. " And I'm going to save them.

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When Kendra saw the barrier be broken, she expected to see Seth walk out of the trees, brown hair messed up by the wind, his brown eyes glistening with mischief.

But what she didn't expect to see, was Seth, wearing all dark colors from head to toe, black hair falling slightly below his ears, golden eyes filled with fury, gigantic black wings nearly dragging the ground behind him. _This_ was what her brother had become?

Kendra lifted a hand to her mouth. Seth _was_ alive. Gzerth hadn't been lying.

Looking around, the young adult saw her family showing similar looks, staring at Seth, eyes wide. But the boy - teenager, Kendra corrected herself – wasn't looking at any of them. He was staring straight into Gzerths eyes, and the demon returned the gaze.

" So you got my letter. And you decided to come."

Seth stared at the dragon for a moment before answering. Yet, he didn't speak English.

 _"_ _Trhemc fjlogh kvail oijos, Gzerth. Erthyn hatlf mjle cartg."_ The words flowed out of his mouth, fluently, in place, but Kendra had a feeling she would never have succeeded in saying one word. If they were words.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kendra saw Bracken's mouth fall open.

" My God… he's speaking Darktone. " Kendra gave him a puzzled glance. " It's the language dark creatures use to speak with each other. It's been long forgotten by humans. At least, until now."

Kendra turned her head towards her brother again, still not believing he was there. Gzerth was snarling at the boy and soon answered with the same language.

 _"_ _Nertham gosth mjle hem tuyno gaer, thryes mjle kaghl methoa. "_

Suddenly Seth motioned to them, with angry gestures, but kept his eyes on the demon.

 _"_ _Mather kem mjle hartymh athes; Trhemc fjlogh kvail oijos! Mef akerth!"_

 **(Translation:**

 **1) Let my family go, Gzerth. It's me you want.**

 **2) I want you, but they're an effective way of keeping you on a leash.**

 **3) I'm going to say this one more time; Let my family go! Now!)**

"Are you threatening me?" The sudden change to English took Kendra by surprise, but the two continued their conversation like it hadn't happened.

" Yes, I am. " Seth's voice was firm, and Kendra wondered if she'd ever seen him like this.

Gzerth lifted the corner of his mouth, which Kendra understood was something like a smirk.

" That might not be a good idea. " He swung his tail in a wide arc, and suddenly about a thousand dark creatures sprang out of the forest. " You see… I have an army."

To Kendra's surprise, Seth answered with a smile himself.

" So do I."

From behind him, eyes started appearing. Golden, green, blue, brown, red… and Kendra saw nearly five hundred creatures appear from the shadows. Leading them, was a giant wolf, its mouth in a snarl, as it walked over to Seth.

Without even glancing its way, Seth placed a hand on its head, and the wolf pushed against it with affection.

The demon and the Shadow Charmer stared at each other, neither one's gaze wavering.

" I've come to a conclusion, that you aren't here for the deal. " Deal? What deal? What was Gzerth talking about?

" Not even close. I came here for my family. " Kendra felt tears welling in her eyes. Even after everything her family had done to him, he still came to protect them. He still called them _his_ family.

" Very well." Then, without any warning, Gzerth turned his head towards the Sorensons and unleashed a flame of pure darkness at them.

Kendra buried her face into Bracken's chest, as he put his arms around her, and they waited for the flames to hit them. But they didn't.

Kendra turned her head, to find Seth standing in front of them, wings spread out on either side, the wingspan over three meters. His arms were stretched out, and only inches from them, the flame parted ways, away from the Shadow Charmer and the terrified people behind him.

The flames stopped to reveal a very angry Gzerth. The demon reared up on his back legs, and let out a tremendous roar.

Seth glanced behind himself, and locked eyes with Kendra.

" Go!"

And with that, he spread his wings and sprung into the air. Bracken grabbed her hand, and led her to the porch of the house, the rest of the family hurrying behind.

From there, they stared in horror at the fight Seth and Gzerth were engaged in.

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	12. Battle

***** I'm sorry I didn't update before. I didn't have a very good motivation until I got a review from Guest, so thank you for that. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will need at least two reviews to continue the story. *****

As he sprang into the air, gigantic wings beating, Seth could feel the stares of his family, boring into his back. Seeing them again, especially Kendra, Warren, and Bracken had made his heart ache. He had realized he missed them, but not this much. He was also surprised to feel happy to see the rest of his family too.

He snapped out of his thoughts, as Gzerth roared, and swung his tail, trying to hit the young Shadow Charmer. Diving down, Seth sent a ball of fire at the gigantic dragon, dodging the demon's attack.

The ball of fire, though, only bounced back from its black scales, and fell to the ground, thankfully not setting it into flames.

In his mind, Seth searched for Thames', commanding him to attack against Gzerth's army. The telepathic message barely used energy, but almost immediately he heard the gigantic wolf howl; its signal to attack.

Out of the corner of his eye, as he rose higher to get away from Gzerth's snapping jaws, Seth saw the two armies of dark creatures crash together.

Within seconds, the ground was soaked in blood; blood belonging to both armies. Screams and roaring were heard, but Seth pushed them out of his mind. He had to concentrate on his own battle.

Blocking a huge ball of darkness with a force field, Seth took in his surroundings, trying to find anything, that might help him defeat the demon.

Beuse of Gzerth was so massive, it didn't have much room to move in the gardens without crashing into the trees, or squashing the armies fighting below them. That meant, that he wouldn't be very quick to turn.

Seth started flying around the demon, firing at him with different kinds of spells. Yet, the scales were too thick, and the boy was all but convinced that the scales were magic proof.

Forming a chain, about a meter thick, Seth stopped behind the monster and sent it flying. One end of the chain wrapped around Gzerth's neck and the other plunged into the ground. In his mind, Seth commanded the chain to separate underground, and spread around, like roots. He felt a tug in his stomach, as a sign that it had done just that.

Furious, Gzerth pulled at the chain, screaming words in Darktone, words Seth didn't even know existed. The chain wouldn't hold for long, Seth knew, but it would give him time to think.

Shooting at the demon was out of the question; the spell would only bounce back, without making any harm to the dragon. He couldn't draw Gzerth out of Fablehaven, in fear of endangering more creatures than the ones living on the preserve. The other creatures!

Closing his eyes, Seth concentrated on the darkness in the preserve, anything with dark magic in their veins.

After sending a message to them, again telepathically, Seth opened his eyes, just in time to see Gzerth break the chain with one massive pull.

 _" This ends, now!"_ the demon growled in Darktone while turning his head around.

Instead of answering, Seth dove under the dragon's feet, blasting a few enemy creatures into thousands of bits, before rising into the air again, making Gzerth turn again. More dark creatures - the ones he had called - appeared from the trees; trolls, giants, imps... and they joined the battle against Gzerth's creatures. It was seven hundred against eight hundred. Only then did Seth realize the number of bodies laying on the ground.

As he prepared for another chain, without any other idea, Gzerth released a flame of darkness from his mouth, with lightning speed.

Dodging left, Seth missed most of it, but he felt his wing get pushed back from the force of the darkness. Tha flame didn't hurt him, as he was a dark creature too, but it did send him crashing into the ground.

The landing hurt. Seth felt his head hit something, a rock maybe? His head begun hurting immediately, but it was nothing compared to his wing, that he had fallen on.

He didn't even have to look at it, to know it was broken. The pain went through his body in flashes, and he couldn't stop an agonized scream from escaping him.

He was laying on his back, Gzerth towering over him, giving one of his strange smirks. It was terrifying. The battlefield quieted down, and the dark creatures backed away, to give space to their leaders.

Breathing hard, Seth rose on one elbow, and tucked in his wings, making them disappear into his back; something he had learned to do in the past years. The action forced his wing to pop into its right place, which hurt, but the pain disappeared with the limb.

Rising to his feet, Seth stared at the massive creature standing in front of him. He lifted his gaze and met the demon's. His eyes were like doors to a darker universe. That... was when he got an idea.

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 _" Focus, Seth. Imagine the place. See it in your mind!" The Sphinx said, which irritated Seth even more._

 _" I am trying, but you screaming that in my ear every two seconds does not help!"_

 _He closed his eyes again concentrating on the other side of the cave. He imagined a hole in the air, a tunnel connecting the place he imagined, to the place he was in._

 _He was focusing trying to create the portal, that he didn't even realize it had been formed before the Sphinx shouted at him to stop._

 _As he opened his eyes, he saw a black circle floating in the air, with a dark purple spiral inside it._

 _" Seth! " Turning his gaze to his mentor of one year, Seth saw the man starting to be pulled towards the portal that had appeared to the other side of the cave, exactly where he had wanted it. " I need you to stop! Now!"_

 _Seth, arm still stretched out from creating the gateway through places, tried focusing on making the portal close, but was unexpectedly filled with a feeling of nausea, and he staggered sideways, falling onto the ground._

 _" Seth, the portal may not be strong enough to transport a living being! I need you to concentrate on my voice. Close. The. Portal." The calmness of his voice gave Seth the strength to lift a hand, commanding the portal to close._

 _Finally, the suction that was dragging the Sphinx towards the portal stopped, and the magical door disappeared. The older Shadow Charmer turned around, face flushed to congratulate his student, but the boy was already unconscious._

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Stretching out his arm, Seth tried to imagine the place he wanted to send Gzerth. A familiar tug in his stomach grew stronger and more fierce as a gigantic black and purple portal appeared behind the demon.

Gasps were heard from around the battlefield, belonging to the dark creatures and his family standing safely on the porch of the house.

Confused about what everyone was looking at, Gzerth turned his head only to find the hole behind him, even larger than himself.

The suction was even larger.

Seth managed to form an invisible force field in front of him, stopping him from being pulled into the portal.

All the dark creatures ran into woods, getting behind trees and boulders, but Gzerth wasn't so lucky. Digging his claws into the ground, he tried to stop himself, but in vain.

 _" No! Stop this instant! Seth_!" the demon screamed in horror, realizing where the portal lead. But Seth wasn't listening. Not because he had no intention of stopping, but because he was fighting to stay awake.

He knew he wouldn't be able to keep the portal open for long, and the effort was already draining his powers. No. Not only draining. It was ripping his magic from him.

Even with legendary powers, the strain was too much. But he needed to get Gzerth away from here. He knew a way, but the cost was something he didn't want to pay. But it was the only way.

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" Get cover!" Bracken shouted, pulling Kendra behind the railing of the porch just as a massive circle appeared behind Gzerth. Kendra was peering from between the boards of the railing, and through the crack, she saw the dark creatures run into the forest.

What was the black circle? That was when she felt herself being pulled towards it. Bracken pulled her closer, holding her against the railing, which stopped her from moving much.

She had never been in a hurricane, but this was what she thought it would be like.

" What's Seth doing?" Kendra shouted, trying to make herself heard above Gzerth's yells in Darktone.

" He's creating a portal! It's sucking Gzerth in." Bracken answered.

" Where is the portal going to send him?" Grandpa asked, and after a moment of thinking of an answer, the fairy prince's face went pale.

" That shouldn't even be possible. Even my mother can't do that..." Bracken muttered, and Grandpa asked for clarification. Looking at the Sorensons in the eye, Bracken answered. " He's opening a portal to Zzyzx."

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	13. Souls

***** Thank you ? and ? for the reviews! This will be one of the last chapters, so I'm going to say this now in case I forget it; if you want a sequel please tell me, and any ideas for it or other chapters are welcome. Please enjoy!*****

His vision was cracking. There was a buzz in his ears, loud enough to make him nearly lose focus. He felt like he was hanging off an edge of a cliff, where one wrong move would send him plummeting to the ground below.

Fighting to stay awake - no, _alive_ \- Seth tried to concentrate on himself. He tried to search every bit of darkness still inside him. _In his soul._

His soul. It was the only thing, that still had any darkness in it. Even though he had been deprived of his powers almost completely, his soul would always carry darkness in it. Magic, or not, he was a Shadow Charmer.

Eyes closed and pushing away all the noise, Seth didn't see his family giving the portal horrified looks, or hear Gzerth pleading for him to close it. In his mind, he imagined being in a dark void. In the middle of the void, a white wisp was floating, a blurry version of himself.

Willing himself to move closer to his soul, he could feel it, emitting power. Stretching out a hand, Seth gripped the wrist of the spirit. He was surprised that the wrist felt solid, not like smoke. Concentrating on the magic in the soul, he channeled it into his hand, which was still keeping the portal alive, in the real world.

Opening his eyes, Seth saw the portal, which had started to get smaller due to the loss of power, get larger, the suction even stronger than before.

Trees were being pulled out of the ground, along with chunks of the earth. But although the portal was stronger, Seth was weaker.

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Everyone stared at the portal in shock, and horror. *Did it really lead to Zzyzx?* Kendra wondered. * And how had Seth managed to create it?*

She saw Seth close his eyes, and only then noticed how pale he was. Sweat drenched his now brown hair, along with blood, which originated from a deep gash on the side of his head.

After a moment Seth opened his eyes, which for some reason had turned back to the same color as his hair. He looked like the same Seth who Warren had brought home two years ago, only older.

The portal grew larger, and Kendra found herself almost being pulled over the porch's railing but was held down by Bracken. The porch shook, and Kendra imagined the wooden pillars bending. That was what it sounded like.

Staring at her little brother through the cracks of the railing, like she had before, and her worried face turned to confusion at the scene. Was Seth... fading?

His stretched out hand seemed to be slowly turning into smoke, and the whisps were being pulled towards the portal but stopped about a meter from the young Shadow Charmer.

" No..." she heard Bracken say beside her. " Seth, you need to stop..." His voice was frantic, and maybe even terrified.

" Wha is he doing?" Mrs. Sorenson screamed, clutching her husband with one hand, and to the door handle with the other.

" He's using his soul! If he doesn't stop soon... he'll die. "

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Seth was shaking. His feet felt weak, his head light. His vision was making everything double, so it was hard to figure which one of the two was real.

Gzerth was only a few meters away from the portal, still clawing at the ground. He was flapping his massive wings, trying to get into the air, but with the position he was in, his wings got tangled in the trees, which Seth could relate to being painful.

*" Seth, you must stop! I will do anything! I will spare your family! I will never bother you again!"

The demon's tail had already disappeared into the portal, and the rest of its body would follow in only mere seconds.

Lifting his gaze, Seth met Gzerth's and gave a small weak smile.

" Please keep your talons and horns inside the ride at all times. Have a nice ride to Zzyzx." And with that, the demon vanished into the darkness.

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Seth stood there for a moment, staring portal as it closed, before crumbling to the ground. His eyes, closed, exhaustion suddenly taking over. His chest felt light, and empty, a feeling he had never experienced before. HIs breath was labored, and shocks of coldness went through his body every few seconds.

 _I'm dying,_ he thought. _And this time, I won't survive._

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 ***** Sorry to end it here, guys! Hope you liked it, although it was quite short but the next chapter will be up within a few days. *****


	14. Saying Goodbyes

***** Sooo, this is the final chapter to this story! I will indeed write a sequel, I have the ideas ready and everything! There will be a sneak peek after this chapter, just so that you get the idea of what will happen in it! I know I promised to write within a week or so, but as you probably know, that week went by over a month ago. Oh, and let's NOT forget who got me to write this chapter. Thank you so much, Christian! Without you, I don't think this story would ever have been finished! I hope you enjoy this!*****

The battlefield was quiet. Everything seemed far away. So far that Seth couldn't hear nearly anything. Not the wind whistling in the trees. Not the thunder roaring in the sky. Not his sister's heartbroken scream.

"NOOO!"

He felt his upper body being lifted up into a slightly diagonal position, his head being propped up by a soft, gentle hand. He felt raindrops falling on his face, but suspected that they were actually tears.

With great effort, Seth opened his eyes.

Above him, he saw Kendra, her hair dripping from the rain. Slowly, she caressed his cheek, biting her lip to stop a sob from escaping.

" Hey, Kens."

" Hey." she answered, choking on the words. Her shoulders shook, and she closed her eyes, letting tears fall. " You can't leave me, Seth. You..."

She sat there, weeping, her little brother securely in her arms, holding him as his life continued to slip away.

" Kendra? I want you to promise me something." Kendra looked at him waiting got him to speak. " I want you to live a long life. You hear me? You'll... you'll have a good life, and you're going to accomplish everything you ever wanted. And you won't let anything stop you. Promise me."

Slowly Kendra nodded. " I promise. But... you can't give up. "

" I'm not giving up. I just accept there's nothing I can do. And I know, you don't want to do it... but you need to let me go."

Kendra closed her eyes, and shook her head.

" Please, Kendra."

Their eyes met, and finally Kendra nodded. " Okay."

A small smile appeared on Seth's face, and he felt an immense weight lifting from his chest. He lifted a hand, and pushed a strand of Kendra's hair behind her ear.

" I love you." he whispered.

" I love you, too."

And then he closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling steadily, before finally stopping. Kendra lowered her tears stained face, and touched her forhead to Seth's.

" No... please Seth, no... NO!"

Her family had been waiting a few meters behind, and now they walked up to her, and lowered theimselves onto the ground next to the girl. Every dark creature in the area, didn't dare to break the silence, and neither did any light one. For this was something that they would remember for centuries.

The great Shadow Charmer was dead.

 ***** Please don't kill me! Most of you are probably furious right now, wanting to rip my head off my shoulders but please, before you do that, read the sneak peek! Then, if you're still mad at me, you can come kill me. I'll say hi to Seth.**

 **Sneak Peek**

" _He said only a legendary Shadow Charmer could control the creatures trying to open Zzyzx! The only legendary Shadow Charmer who would help us, would be Seth Sorenson, and he died thousands of years ago!" Melanie screamed at her brother._

" _We can't give up! We need his help, and we're going to get it even if we have to crawl through the underworld! "_

" _You mean retreaving his soul from the dead? Bringing him back to life? How do you think of doing that? I'll help you, if you have a way of doing it!"_

" _Maybe Mom would-"_

" _No. If Mom knew we were bringing her brother back to life, she would stop us. We shouldn't be messing with the dead."_

 _Adarian crossed his arms, his blue eyes staring into his big sister's green ones. His black hair, which fell under his ears made him look more like a thirteen than an eleven-year-old._

 _Unlike her brother, Melanie had light brown hair, similar to her mother's. Her mother, Kendra and father Bracken were two very loving parents. Yet, instead of the two siblings being like their parents, they were told that they resembled their mother and her brother when they were young._

 _Adarian was adventerous, and liked doing things he wasn't supposed to, while Melanie enjoyed reading and spending time with her people in the Fairy Kingdom._

" _Well, do you have a better idea?" Adarian snapped._

" _No, I'm just saying it's dangerous. **Very** dangerous. We could get killed!"_

" _Well it's either we die **trying,** or the **world** dies because we haven't done anything."_

 _There was a moments silence. Then Adarian spoke again._

" _And don't tell me it wouldn't be cool to see an actual Shadow Charmer?" Melanie shook her head, at her brother's comment._

" _Alright, dweeb. But don't think, that this okay. And I'm in charge. Deal?"_

" _Deal."_

 ***** So yes, as you probably figured, Adarian and Melanie are the main characters in this story. The story takes place a few thousand years after Seth dies. The world hasn't changed much, so there are no flying cars or teleportation devises due to my bad imagination. It's the same old iPhones and computers. :)**

 **Anyway, a group of rogue demons are planning to open Zzyzx, and a mysterious hooded figure contacts Adarian and Melanie in their sleep. They leave on a mission (without their parents permission) and enter the underworld. They need to find Seth, the only Shadow Charmer they think will help them, bring him back to life, and try to stop the demons from opening the prison. All in one week. Will they do it? Find out in The Shadow Returns. *****


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